The Yellow Gate police arrested nine more Somali pirates handed over to them by the Indian Navy after rescuing hijacked Pakistani crew members onboard the Iranian fishing vessel Al Kambar. After more than 12 hours of ‘intense coercive tactical measures’, the pirates on board were forced to surrender, and the 23 Pakistani nationals were safely rescued by the Indian Navy on March 29.
“The Indian Navy brought the nine pirates in guided missile frigate INS Trishul and handed them to us. We have booked them under sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 383 (extortion), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 342 (wrongful confinement for ten or more days), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022 and Indian Arms Act,” said DCP Sanjay Latkar of the Port Zone.
Latkar said the pirates have been formally placed under arrest and will be produced before the court on Thursday.
Iranian fishing vessel Al Kambar was hijacked by 9 Somali Pirates. Indian Navy Ship Sumedha intercepted the vessel approximately 90 nautical miles southwest of Socotra and was reported to have been boarded by nine armed pirates.
“The Indian Navy after reaching the fishing vessel warned the pirates of action after which, keeping the Pakistani nationals as shield, they agreed to surrender and threw all the weapons in the sea. The Navy has handed us one AK-47 rifle and 728 live cartridges and a GPS device recovered from the pirates,” said the police officer.
The Pakistani nationals told the Navy that the pirates had rocket launchers, hand-grenades and several more AK-47 rifles which were thrown in sea.
The police officers said they will interrogate the arrested pirates with the help of a translator.
Amir Khan, the master of the fishing vessel Al Kambar, while talking to Hindustan Times earlier said, “I left from Iran and Somali pirates hijacked my vessel. The Indian navy fought the pirates and freed us.” He and his Pakistani colleagues thanked the Indian Navy for rescuing them.
The crew comprising 23 Pakistani nationals was given a thorough medical checkup before clearing the boat to continue fishing activities. The nine pirates were brought to India for further legal action and were handed to the cops.
The nine arrested Somali pirates have been identified as Gelie Jama Farah, 50, Ahmed Bashir Omar, 42, Abdikarin Mohmmad Shire, 34, Adan Hasan Warmase, 44, Mohammed Abdi Ahmed, 34, Abdikadir Mohmmad Ali, 28, Aydid Mohmud Jimale, 30, Said Yasin Adan, 25, and Jama Said Elmi, 18.
Recently, INS Kolkata, carrying 35 pirates who were arrested in an operation off the coast of Somalia, reached Mumbai on March 23. These pirates were then handed over to the Mumbai police for further legal action.